We are heading into our homestretch here in Kathmandu and there have been so many changes with each of the girls!! Last week each of them got up in front of the school and introduced themselves to the students and I couldn’t believe the confidence and power that they all exuded! Especially, a couple of the ones that were so shy at the beginning that they couldn’t even look me in the eye when they spoke.
We then went on the trek for three days and I was so nervous that they wouldn’t all make it. On the first day I thought I would have to send two back home as one was wheezing like crazy and the other is so skinny that her blood sugar kept plummeting!! But with a lot of team work from the other girls, who carried their bags, and a lot of bananas and cookies, we made it to Chisopani on the first night after about 5 to 6 hours of trekking. And then on the second day we walked for about 9 hours and reached Nargokot. The girls were exhausted but elated and we had a dance party around the bonfire that night, dancing to Hindi, Nepali, and Rwandan music!! On the third day we walked for another 5 hours and ended up at the oldest Hindu temple in Nepal, which is 1800 year old!! I’ve never seen young people push themselves so much, as our girls did during this trek. Even when they fell down or were in so much pain, they kept walking! They all said that they learned that the mind is stronger than the body and that they could do anything they decided to do!!